


feel it still

by neroh



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Co-workers, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Strangers to Lovers, The abuse of ugly fonts, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 100-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 20:18:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14576853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neroh/pseuds/neroh
Summary: Brianna's Original Prompt: Okay, you ready for this? Write me a fic where Jim and Bones meet because they're emailing for work and Jim has horribly unprofessional email etiquette and formatting and BONES FINDS IT RIDICULOUS BUT THEN GETS USED TO IT. And looks forward to the endearing and adorkable emails and it leads to them falling in love. Okay, GO!





	feel it still

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Captainkirkmccoy (faithintheboys)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithintheboys/gifts).



> Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own.

The first time Leonard sees an email from one Jim Kirk, his eyes nearly pop out of his skull from the horrible—repeat, god-awful—use of colors that are not in the Enterprise Style Guide (and in fact, shouldn’t be used AT ALL) and Comic Sans.

Comic Sans. In a professional email. With Papyrus. In. The. Signature.

Good god, is this real life?

Leonard, being ever meticulous, doesn’t even respond to this clown’s question because he’s so distracted by the horrible formatting that he might have an aneurysm! Instead, he attaches a PDF of the company branding and its rules which he and Spock developed and sends it off with a terse, “Minimalism. Try it some time.”

He expects an equally terse, perhaps butthurt response because people in this company can be pompous douchebags. Leonard _lives_ to shut those folks down; it’s one of his favorite things in the world to tell them how wrong—yes, you’re fucking WRONG—they are.

However, Jim Kirk’s reply kind of throws him for a loop. “Are you one of those designers who enjoy wearing flannel under a sweater in the summer and has a quadrilateral tattoo on their forearm?”

First of all, the tattoo on the _inside of his bicep_ is not a quadrilateral! It’s a geometric peach because he’s from _Georgia_. Secondly, he absolutely, under no uncertain terms _hates_ flannel.

“I am one of those designers who enjoy following the design guidelines as dictated by the style guide that they developed because it’s the bones of which good design is based on,” he types back before hitting send with his mouse.

Jim’s response comes seconds later. “Live a little,” he says with a winky face. “ _Bones_ ,” he adds seconds later.

And continues to do so in every single interaction they have on email or through the internal messaging system. Never Leonard, Leo, Len; _always_ Bones.

He asks Gaila about this kid whose emails he _does not_ look forward to receiving because Leonard has work to do, dammit! They’re in line at the deli around the corner from the office, away from office gossip and Spock who has sonar hearing.

“He’s one of the renders under Chris,” she tells him. “I think he joined a few months ago.“

Leonard blinks, confused. “He did?”

“Yeah. Chris introduced him during the staff meeting.”

He vaguely remembers an announcement sent around to the office about a new hire with a candid shot of an unfairly good-looking man whose name escapes Leonard’s memory. All he remembers is the guy’s blue eyes and easy grin and absolutely nothing about his identity.

“Darlin’, you know I _never_ go to staff meetings.”

Gaila turns around, her red curls bouncing. “And there’s the rub,” she teases. “If you had gone, you would know who he is and you wouldn’t have to ask me about your little email crush.”

He chokes on his own saliva. “Who told you!”

“Nyota,” Gaila says with a shrug. She looks more interested in today’s special than Leonard’s love life or lack thereof. “Spock mentioned it to her and she is the head of IT.”

“Those are private emails!” In which he and Jim have been flirting and bantering back and forth for weeks. Leonard corrects his terrible grammar and Jim brushes it off with his carefree wit and use of that _awful_ nickname.

“They are also fair game since you two are using the company server,” Gaila reminds him. She turns to him. “Why don’t you just ask him out, get his number, and sext him?”

Leonard shakes his head. “I _do not_ sext!”

“Maybe you should?”

Maybe he should, but he doesn’t.

Leonard doesn’t sext. Leonard is an adult who ends up giving Jim Kirk his number _and_ asking him out for coffee that weekend. An adult who nearly shits himself with glee when Jim agrees to it when he calls Leonard back later that day.

They never make it to coffee because Jim invites him over that night and when Leonard is unbuttoning Jim’s shirt, he thinks that they don’t need coffee. Coffee is bad for them. Coffee has acids and too much sugar and doesn’t make him weak in the knees like when Jim kisses him.

Because _damn_. DAMN.

When they get married a year later, it’s only fitting that their save-the-date uses an email theme with terrible fonts and colors.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
